Just a few days ago, UNESCO voted to elect their next Director General to replace the current exiting Director, Bulgarian Irina Bokova. At the end of the process, it came down to two candidates: One from Qatar and one from France. The favorite was Qatari candidate Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, but he lost to French candidate Audrey Azoulay (30-28.) The UNESCO Director General’s position is a 5-year term , open to a second term.
UNESCO is an acronym for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Of the 195 countries members of UNESCO, 60 are either Muslim countries, members of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation), or observer members of the OIC. This constitutes almost a third of of the countries part of UNESCO. The fact that UNESCO has a strong anti-Israel bias cannot be denied and its strong Muslim membership might be a factor but it isn’t the ONLY factor. Many other countries represented, also have very strong anti-Semitic sentiment against Israel. The result has been a plethora of resolutions against Israel over the years.in 2011, UNESCO officially recognized Palestine (107/14) and added the “new state” to its roster. Immediately after, the United States pulled its funding. Then, in 2016 UNESCO declared that the Temple Mount/Western Wall in Jerusalem had no Jewish connection and called it by its Arabic name, thus stripping it from all Jewish identity and opening the door for more violence between Palestinians and Israelis. Continuing on its campaign to delegitimize everything Jewish, UNESCO recently declared that Jerusalem had no right to be the capital of Israel. The vote took place on Israel Independence Day, making one wonder if the date was selected to further humiliate Israel.
The day before the vote to elect the new director, the United States expressed their decision to leave UNESCO over their flagrant anti-Israel bias. Within hours, Israel followed suit declaring that electing French AND Jewish candidate Audrey Azoulay was not enough to keep Israel as a member.
The United States, under the leadership of Donald Trump have been very vocal about their support of Israel. The electing of Nikki Haley has the US ambassador the United Nations has already yielded some amazing changes in favor of Israel. So it is clear that agencies such as the UN or UNESCO can be reformed in favor of a more balanced outlook on world affairs– something they were both started for. What Audrey Azoulay will accomplish as new Director General of UNESCO is yet unclear, but time will tell.
Miss Azoulay served as Minister of Culture (2016-17) in the François Hollande Socialist government. She arrives at a critical time for UNESCO and will have an uphill battle to restore credibility to an agency that has seen its integrity erode over the last decade. But the departure of both Israel and the US–outside of a great loss of financial contributions–might make matters worse for Israel. Two major voices of reason are lost in a community that clearly shows bold animosity against Israel. Miss Azoulay’s challenge will be to ensure that the remaining members will not continue to re-write history “sans Israel.” Her Jewish family heritage gives her an appearance of credibility, but it will be a long road to restore UNESCO’s credibility, at least among those who don’t try to re-write history.
As I see it, UNESCO is part of the global libel against Israel, easily pushed forward by an anti-Semitic community and even more easily accepted by many uneducated masses who couldn’t care less about authentic history.

On Thursday, September 28, Palestine was accepted as the newest member of INTERPOL. INTERPOL is the “INTERrnational POLice” Agency that was started in 1923 with the goal of coordinating various world police forces and sharing intel across borders. In the second article of its constitution, INTERPOL states the reason for its existence:” To ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities within the limits of the laws existing in the different countries and in the spirit of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’; To establish and develop all institutions likely to contribute effectively to the prevention and suppression of ordinary law crimes.

The creation of the INTERPOL Agency was needed and has resulted in the cooperation of worldwide police forces to fight international crime over the years, and that’s a good thing. But the recent addition of Palestine to the INTERPOL roster might be creating problems more than solving them. By admitting the State of Palestine, INTERPOL admits that Palestine exists as a state. That is its first mistake, and it creates a false premise for the rest of the process. The geographical area known to the world as Israel that was renamed Palestine never ceased to be Israel. Until the 1960’s the word “Palestine” was simply used to describe Israel, nothing more, nothing less. After the arrival on the Middle East scene of Yasir Arafat, Palestine took on a new meaning and became politically charged. A newly displaced people were created. A struggle was justified and terrorism popularized.

It took over fifty years of patient international nagging punctuated by regular acts of terrorism for Palestine to exist. Exist in the mind of those who cretaed it that is! But today, Palestine also exist in the politically correct, brainwashed minds of many people who would rather root for the fictional underdog instead of checking if that underdog has legitimate reasons to complain. So the question is no longer “Does Palestine exist?” but “How come Palestine isn’t recognized by more international agencies?”

Over the last few years, the Palestinian authority managed to get recognized by about fifty world organizations, including the United Nations, UNESCO and the ICC (International Criminal Court) only to name a few. The moment that the Nobel Peace Prize was given jointly to Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat, was a defining moment for all those who understand the concept of peace. It made the Nobel Organization look like a bunch of fools and tarnished their reputation for good. Then, the inclusion of Palestine as a “Non-Member Observer State” at the United Nations in 2012 solidified the obvious bias that the UN has had against Israel for several decades.

So it was only a matter of time before INTERPOL joined the others. Of the 192 countries belonging to Interpol, more than two-thirds voted in favor of the inclusion of Palestine. These were not only Arab countries. But to those who are interested in the facts, the integrity of the Palestinian Authority leaves a lot to be desired. Millions of donated funds have been used for the building of tunnels to infiltrate Israel illegally whenever possible and perform more acts of terrorism. Schools and hospitals in Gaza have been repeatedly used to hide and use weapons against Israel, not only ignoring the safety of Palestinian civilians but also using them as human shields.

By admitting Palestine as one of their new members, INTERPOL exposes itself to a corrupt body more interested in the complete destruction of Israel than in any international police cooperation. Sure, the Palestinian Authority might show good faith by sharing some intel that would lead to the arrest of a few Palestinians or other criminals, but that is most likely not their overall intention. In the meantime, it also gives them access to other intel that could be used to hurt Israel. How many of us really believe that the Palestinian Authority will ” ensure and promote the widest possible mutual assistance between all criminal police authorities” as stated in INTERPOLS’s constitution. Instead, it will use its recent international vindication to further demonize Israel and the Jewish people.

It is ironic that INTERPOL’s inclusion of Palestine would ignore their repeated violations of human rights and in the same breath declare in their constitution that their cooperative work is always done “in the spirit of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’.” Seriously? By accepting Palestine as their newest member, INTERPOL will tarnish their reputation and further facilitate the Palestinian agenda of Israel’s annihilation. Now “Palestine” has the backing of an international body of police forces to fulfill that agenda, and don’t think for a minute that they won’t use it to their advantage!

Less than a week before Mr. Obama walks into the sunset–or at least walks out of the White House– further damage to US/Israel relations is still possible. Beyond a shaky relationship that has been crumbling over the past eight years, Israel is a risk once again because 72 world leaders are being manipulated by her fiercest foes. They are about to meet in Paris on January 15 and decide on the fate of the tiny Jewish State. Like a thorn in the flesh of our global village, according to these leaders, Israel must accept and recognize Palestine for her [Israel] own good.

Neither Mr. Netanyahu nor Mr. Abbas will be attending the Paris Conference. Mr. Abbas isn’t interested in negotiations (nothing new here) and Mr. Netanyahu, while opened to negotiating, will only do it with no preconditions AND in person with Mr. Abbas. But the world has “a wonderful plan for Israel” even if it leads to its destruction!

Several ambassadors wrote a letter ahead of the conference, explaining why it is in Israel’s interest to accept a two-state solution and finally recognize Palestine. They are asking France to lead the way in recognizing Palestine, and this could very well take place on January 15 in Paris, UNILATERALLY.

We mustn’t forget that earlier in 2016, UNESCO decided that the Temple Mount–one of the oldest Jewish site– biblically, archeologically and historically wasn’t Jewish but was a Muslim site. Both the UN and UNESCO (as a UN agency) joined by the current US administration are simply ignoring factual, historical truth. In a recent article, journalist Maria Polizoidou said it well,“The US and the UN – both the Security Council and UNESCO – are not who determine what is historically true and what is not. These shameful votes should be reversed immediately; if not, all funding should be withdrawn from the United Nations, by United States and all freedom-loving democracies. They are now, to paraphrase the words of the Soviet Union’s Vladimir Lenin, ‘paying for the rope with which members of the UN will hang them.'”

The Paris Conference on Israel/Palestine without Netanyahu or Abbas will possibly lead to a vote in favor of recognizing “Palestine.” The two main countries that are interested in such a move are France and the United States (under the current administration.) President Hollande of France will be out in May and Obama will be out in on January 20th. Both are lame ducks and have nothing to lose. They both believe that their legacies would benefit from a declared state of Palestine on their watch. By the end of Sunday, the arrogant world leaders who chose to convene in Paris might have enough momentum to push forward yet another United Nation resolution on January 17, only three days before our new POTUS is sworn in. If they could only take these few facts in consideration:

• The land of Canaan was given to the Jewish people through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by divine decree in a covenant without preconditions as seen in Genesis 15:18-19: On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.” Geographically speaking the real estate includes much more than current Israel even if you add the Gaza Strip and the West bank back in. They might not believe that the Bible is a binding document, but they will find out soon enough that it is!

• Israel became a state on May 18, 1948 after being voted in by the United Nations and back then Palestinians didn’t exist.

• No other sovereign state ever had to give land conquered at war back to the enemy except for Israel. The territory gained during the Six-Day War isn’t to be returned unless Israel wishes to commit a geographical suicide.

The hatred of the Jews existed long before Israel was reborn. The voluntary or forced shrinking of the Land of Israel will never stop those who loathe the Jews from hurting them in the Land or anywhere else in the world. For anybody to think that Israel is the biggest obstacle to world peace in general and Middle East peace in particular is ludicrous. This is a false premise historically, geographically, archeologically, politically AND last but not least…Biblically. How could these 72 countries ignore the carnage in Syria, the ethnic cleansing in so many other parts of the world and the myriad of crimes against humanity committed daily, and yet, concentrate their effort on pushing the Jewish state off the cliff?

But then again, there is always a chance that the whole thing will get “Trumped” in a few days. President Elect Donald Trump has been called a “Nazi”, “Hitler”, a “Racist” and many other names. He has much on his plate and many opportunities to show his true colors early. He might surprise us all.

Another year just went by and unfortunately, the world is getting further and further from being a safer place. Global terrorism has gotten so deeply rooted into our daily routines that fewer people notice the frequency and intensity of the attacks. Not a week goes by without some sort of terrorist attack taking place somewhere in the world. While they are not ALL targeted at Israel and/or the global Jewish community, many are. Any student of current world events would easily notice that there is connection and progression from hatred of the Jewish people to hatred of the West and Judeo-Christian values. For a while now, Jewish people have been the “canaries in the coal mine of civilization.” 2017 will be a very interesting transitional year in many ways. We can certainly learn from some of the key events of 2016. It could be remembered as the year when the world tried to erase Israel from history. Here is my summary of antisemitism through the year 2016:

On January 7, 2016, The U.S. Department of State issued a statement in which Secretary of State John Kerry wanted to recognize the victims of the Paris attacks of January 7, 8, 9, 2015: “On the one-year anniversary of the January 7-9, 2015, attacks that took the lives of 17 people, we honor the victims of this tragedy and share the sadness of their loss. Their legacy endures as a challenge and inspiration to all of us. Charlie Hebdo continues to publish, and journalists around the world continue in their essential mission to tell the stories that people everywhere need to hear…. Just as we tackle today’s most daunting challenges side by side, the United States and France will always stand together.” There was no mention of the police officer or the four Jewish victims. The whole tragedy was bundled under the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

For John Kerry not to mention the Jewish victim was a diplomatic faux pas at best and antisemitism by omission at worst. It would have been easy to say “12 members of the Charlie Hebdo staff, one police officer in the line of duty and four Jewish people shopping in a kosher Market.” By generalizing his statement, he ignored the French Jewish victims and offended them. I wonder…. was there any other group he cared not to offend by leaving the Jews out of his statement?

There is no real consensus within Greater Europe as to how to handle the flow of migrants. Some Balkan countries like Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia are now closing their borders. Hungary closed its southern border and even sent armored vehicles to protect it. Sweden on the other hand, like many European countries has had an “open borders” policy allowing for a heavy flow of mostly unchecked refugees. Of course, Germany has been the dream come true for hundreds of thousands of “migrants.” This dream come true is now a real nightmare for Europe in general and Germany in particular. Countries like Sweden and Germany are in big trouble, and the kind of trouble they have allowed and continue to allow cannot be contained within their respective borders, at least not under the current conditions. So they are now controlling their borders and possibly closing them. Well, it’s about time, but could it already be too late?

Is Germany subconsciously suffering from Post-holocaust guilt? It took decades for the German people to get over the Nazi Holocaust. Today, Germany has strong laws against hate crimes and anti-Semitism, even if they might not all be enforced. Obviously, the last thing that Germany would want to be accused of is a repeat of its treatment of human beings during WWII. Thus the pendulum swings opposite side the Nazi ideology. Good for them, but be careful because there is bad in both extremes! Germany has been trying so hard to distance itself from the 1930s that it is blinded by a crisis that could put them right back there!

On March 22, 2016 the world witnessed the deadliest terrorist attack on Belgian soil. The concerted bombings at the Brussels Airport and the Maalbeek Metro station claimed the lives of over 30 people and injured over 300. In the midst of a tragedy like this, people–Religious or not, Belgians or not– seem to cling together in a sobering demonstration of solidarity.

What is even more disturbing is the fact that these acts don’t seem to phase anyone in the media. A woman in a Hijab and wearing a Palestinian scarf is seen tearing an Israeli flag apart and then covering the remains with the Palestinian flag as people all around her watch in silence. Apparently, Israel bashing now supersedes any international display of unity in honor of terror victims.

On Monday April 18, 2016, a bus exploded in south Jerusalem, making it the first major explosion of that type since the Second Intifada. Twenty-one people were injured in the process. This newest act of terrorism was welcomed with cheers from many Palestinians on the streets. Of course, you would be hard pressed to find any denouncing of the Palestinian jubilation from the United Nations. Imagine for a moment that Israel would be the one celebrating the death of Palestinians. The Palestinian authority would cry to the world and the media would feed on that opportunity for days if not weeks, finding enough evidence to validate their hatred of the Jewish state.

Around the same time, the world was shaken by a serious earthquake claiming over 410 lives in Ecuador and injuring over 2,500 people. Additionally, Japan was also hit by a 7.3 earthquake just a few days prior to Ecuador. Forty-four people died and over a thousand were injured, not to mention the tremendous tolls on both economies and the tens of thousands of people left without homes and/or basic resources. Once again, Israel sent help to both Japan and Ecuador almost immediately. Where was the Palestinian team in Ecuador, Japan, Haiti or any other area of the world where humanitarian aid was needed? Nowhere! I don’t expect Palestinians to go out of their way to help Israeli in a crisis situation (although it is always possible), but I expect Palestinians of good will to reach out to the world community and give a helping hand. Where were they?

These moves not only delegitimize Israel and the Jewish people, but hey also embolden her enemies. All this is being done with absolutely no historical foundation, simply in an attempt to weaken Israel. If factual truth mattered, UNESCO would obviously admit that the Temple Mount existed centuries before Islam was even born in 610 CE. Archeological and historical evidence are here to prove it and it should be exactly what the United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization uses to determine the legitimacy of historical sites.

There are plenty of Evangelical denominations loving Israel such as the Southern Baptist Convention, the Calvary Chapel movement, the Assemblies of God and others. But, Israel has also been treated as a pariah by several mainline Evangelical groups for years. The Presbyterian Church USA (PC-USA) voted to divest from Motorola, HP and Caterpillar at their last General Assembly in 2014.

Another denomination that isn’t necessarily known for its support of Israel is the United Methodist Church (UM). Possibly the largest mainline Protestant denomination, the UM have been struggling with their support for Israel in an age of social justice and political correctness. They already turned down two divestment proposals in 2012. Like the PC(USA) members, United Methodists are far from unanimous on their support for Israel. Many would rather see BDS being enforced. Yet, they recently suffered a major setback when all four proposed BDS resolutions were turned down at their May 2016 General Conference.

It is clear that the BDS movement, while still a force to be reckoned with, isn’t equally embraced across the whole spectrum of all Christian denominations. We must also seek biblical/factual truth about the Middle East crisis, something that conferences like Christ at the Checkpoint and documents such as Kairos-Palestine are not interested in. I am also convinced that in due time all BDS proponents will suffer the curse of Genesis 12:3.

In a series of moves that clearly indicate contempt for both Christianity and Judaism, UNESCO voted to erase all Jewish connection from the Temple Mount. The decision didn’t happen in a vacuum as UNESCO has a history of anti-Israel bias, but the latest move against the holiest Jewish site will have serious ramifications.

I could spend time presenting a series of evidence for a Jewish Temple and Temple Mount from the Bible, archeology and even secular history (including some from the Muslim side). The proof would do little to convince those who already know that Temple and its surroundings were and still are Jewish sites, and it would do absolutely nothing to change the mind of those who have delegitimized it.

Re-writing history has been elevated to an “art form” by the Palestinian Authority and its cronies. It has taken about fifty years for the Palestinian narrative to become undisputed truth, but Yasir Arafat, the father of “Palestinian Self-Determination” would be very proud of the work of his successors since his death in 2004.

The first thing that we must realize is that the re-labelling of the Temple mount really has nothing to do with any new historical evidence or artifacts recently discovered. If that was a fact, an even stronger case could be made for the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount. In reality, UNESCO most likely doesn’t care much about the Palestinian connection–or lack of–to the Jewish site. UNESCO is mostly interested in whatever can be done to delegitimize Israel’s connection to the land, whatever the cost, whatever the lies and whatever the consequences.

Several consequences will be felt by this recent vote. They could affect Israel in particular, Jewish people at large and even Christians and Westerners in general. We shouldn’t underestimate what just took place.

The world is increasingly turning its back on Israel (Joel 3:1-2, Zechariah 12:1-3; 14:2, Daniel 12:1). While this shouldn’t be a surprise to those who value biblical truth and the prophetic passages of the Tanach (Jewish Bible), this is very upsetting. Outside of Egypt and Jordan, the whole Middle-East is pretty much at war with the Jewish State. To my surprise, even Jordan (joining the Palestinian Authority), was behind the agenda for promoting such a nonsensical vote. This is very telling at a time when so few countries support Israel, for Jordan to be somewhat of a backstabber.

But the UNESCO vote was not only telling by those who promoted its agenda and those who voted in favor (24 Yes/4 No). It was even more telling because of the 26 countries that abstained. Was it too political of a vote–as it should be– or was it simply that they didn’t want to be caught in the middle of a crossfire between Israel and her enemies. The resulting apathy is equally appalling. Generally speaking, the world has been suffering from “Middle East Fatigue” for a while now, so when UNESCO pretty much voted Israel off the map, the vast majority of the world yawned and changed the channel.

The more pressing issue is the validation of the Palestinian agenda in connection with the Temple mount and it incessant Jewish presence. Palestinians now have UNESCO on their side, as they justify more violence in a possible near future. Who could disagree with pushing Israel the “occupier” off a Palestinian holy site? I am talking about a possible Third Intifada. If that indeed takes place, Jewish blood would end up on the hands of UNESCO, but do they even care?

The few remaining friends of Israel, individually and corporately should be very vocal about this latest turn of events. Not because it happened, since I am convinced more will take place to delegitimize and demonize Israel. We should be vocal because nobody else is. If nothing else, if you want to join me and sleep well at night without the guilt of looking the other way while Israel and the Jews are again being singled out, then speak up please.

Israel always had God on her side. The same God who allowed for the Jewish Temple to be built by Solomon (1 Kings 6, 2 Chronicles 3, Psalm 134. 138, 146-150) and allowed for it to be remodeled and rebuilt under Herod the Great, will protect Israel from destruction (Jeremiah 31:35-37.) He is also the God who will judge the heart of those within UNESCO who repeatedly throw Israel under the bus.

This vote had absolutely nothing to do with world heritage preservation and everything to do with an antisemitic agenda cloaked in Education, Science and Culture (the E.S.C of UNESCO.) Will the world yawn again if the Palestinians start a third Intifada? Of course not…They will blame the Jews for it. After all, don’t the Jews occupy Palestinian soil and usurp a Palestinian holy site for their colonizing purpose? If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn, but you better stand in line because you are not the only potential buyer!